DownInSocal

Umm wow! I have a feeling you might pay for this big time, which seems to be what you want. I can't even imagine eating trail mix, much less two cups of it. I am not sure what to tell you other than you are human. This is just a set back. If your stomach punishes you take your lumps and remember it when you want to jump into trail mix again. We don't change overnight. Honestly, I think it takes a lot of guts to come here and admit you screwed up. For so many of us our food issues were hidden. We didn't talk about it and some of us ate in hiding. You are brave. (((Huggs)))

You know at 4-5 days I had no idea what I was "feeling" in my stomach. It was all just one big.......mess feeling. Gradually you will start to "feel" it again. I can tell if I really need to eat or drink a shake now. That just came back a week or so ago. I think the fullness right out might be swelling. TMI Alert: Ahh the big bowel question. Well....... I had surgery on August 26th. I had a movement (if you could call it that just a few squirts) on August 31st. Then I had some more squirts on September 4th. Then I got worried when the 16th rolled around and I had done nothing so I emailed me team and they said it was ok to take some Milk of Magnesia. A word to the wise: You DON'T need an "adult" dose. Again, You DO NOT need an adult dose:scared0:. I took 3 oz and it was wayyyyyyyy too much. The 24th rolled around and I had been on full liquids and muchies and felt constipated for the first time so I took 1 oz. It was too much again. If I need it again i will take a half ounce. Talk to your surgeon before taking MoM though. You want to make sure your stomach is clear for it. I would not worry about movements on clears at all. After you start full liquids maybe. If it has been a few weeks yeah I would ask.

Of course every program and doctor is different but: -I have yet to see my surgeon. I saw him twice in the hospital. He does not have the best bedside manner so it does not bother me to not see him. I see a nurse practioner at my follow-ups. There is a "team" I can email or call at anytime for help. -I have never felt drained or tired yet. The first several weeks I had so much energy and could not do much because of no lifting and such. I had insomnia but I have had problems with insomnia many times in my life. -I don't know if I would say the loss is serious. I had sadness after surgery because I felt left out sometimes while my family was eating. I prepped myself and admitted I had a problem with food before surgery though. I knew there were going to be tough times. Yes it is a part of the process. You have to face your food issues head on and be honest with yourself. You will come out so much better on the other side. I promise. -Yes I walk. You have to walk! Walk, walk, and more walking. This will help avoid blood clots. Also sometimes it is the only thing that will relieve gas discomfort or a stuck feeling. -I am only 5 weeks out but yes I had some bat wings going on with my arms. That has since tightened up though. I have some sagginess going on in my stomach right above my.......lady bits. I knew this was going to happen. Better than fat to me. -I have no idea what the role of excerise is in sagging skin. -Your job sounds like a workout! That will be good after surgery. Be sure to discuss your physical job with him/her. -Don't fret about the pre-op diet. I only had to do two days but got to do a "clean out" of my system. That was fun :cool:. I would do anything at the end to have this surgery. You get yourself phsyced up enough you can do anything! -Right after surgery Gatoraide is your friend if you feel run down. I drank the red and green mostly.

I was thinking about you guys the other day Vegas. I was thinking how small your grocery bills must be now. Mine have gone down but I still have two teenagers and a husband to feed. I have had to learn to cook for one less or there is massive leftovers. That has been interesting.

Wow Mac. You actually made me feel better. I thought I was way behind the curve when looking at the "meal" plan. Did you fill up easily on shakes too? Shakes sit in my stomach just like food. No slider calories there. I mean Protein shakes, not milkshakes. I have no idea what a milkshake would do nor do I have the desire to find out. Sweets look sickening to me. This eating all the time is hard too because I was never a grazer or a sweeter. Give me a giant pot of Pasta and I was happy.

I am 5 weeks out and have lost some hair. I actually lost more hair before surgery due to stressing myself out about surgery! Seriously. At least for me right now you can't tell. Only I know because I can see a little more in the brush and in the shower drain. Not to discount your fear......hair loss was/is the least of my worries. I so wanted to be healthy and skinny I could have gone bald for awhile and it would have been fine. I have seen very few posts on boards about severe hair loss.

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Welcome Lisa. I am only 5 weeks out and thought at first I was going to get the band. Then I read about the problems. I kept reading. I hung out at the lband forum and saw just how many problems some people were having. I started looking at the sleeve. It took a little while for me to make my mind up but I am so glad I decided on the sleeve. I have never once regretted it or wished I had got the band. It is not like my recovery has all been roses and daisies but for having a portion of your stomach removed it actually has been really easy when looked at in context. My only troubles now are getting enough Protein and calories but at 5 weeks out that is normal. The old timers around here keep me motivated and tell me I am normal. For the first time in my life I am in full control of my eating. What a great feeling. I would be concerned about getting the band if you travel a lot. I have heard airplane travel and the band = not so good. Maybe a previous bandster that converted can talk more about that part. I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and 3 days. I needed to stay overnight. Going home the same day would have been impossible in my opinion. I could not swallow anything (per doctors orders) and needed pain meds by a pain pump or shot through I.V. The next day I could have gone home but to be honest the hospital bed that moves up and down was nice and I needed to have an I.V. to keep me hydrated because I could only drink about 1/8 to 1/4 of an ounce at a time.

I had so many food funerals it was stupid. You are going to be ok I promise and I feel this behavior is your food addict trying to get in one last hoorah before it knows the unlimited party it has been enjoying is over. You won't be taking orders from the addict anymore and you will be loving it. I would suggest honestly tring to stop when you feel full right now. It is hard but chew slower and enjoy the food. Don't be so hard on yourself. Walk a lot so you don't gain too much weight that you will have to lose after surgery and every pound increases your risk for complications. You want to be a around to be a mom!

at 4 days post op trying to get 48 oz was impossible for me. I feel you are normal. It is easy to say "oh just forget it I don't want to drink anyway" but you have to. Keep sipping, you are doing fantastic at 18 oz honestly. I was not getting that much I don't think until 6 days maybe? You have great willpower! Don't worry so much about Protein. It is so drilled in our heads but everyone else is right concentrate on staying hydrated and make sure you are peeing. Are you waking up with a dry mouth?

Thanks Susan. The nutritionist did give me a meal plan. It has menus for up to 6 months out. It is just wayyyy too much food. I obviously could eat less and I am, and pureeing. I have a 32F but I can only eat 1.5 to 2 oz in an hour. I am then full for 4-5 hours. Even drinking sometimes is hard but sometimes it is fine after an hour. I just can't take in as much as the menu says for today: Breakfast: 1/2 cup low fat or fat free cottage cheese with blended peaches (forget the peaches, I can sqeeze down 4 oz of blended cottage cheese Snack: 8 oz skim or fat free milk (are you kidding me? I can't drink 8 oz of anything but Water in an hour, if I take too long it is lunch time!) Lunch: 4 oz tuna with 2 tbl avacado (drop the avacado, doubt I could eat all that tuna after so much milk) Snack: (More Snacks?:thumbdown:) Protein suppliment shake made with 8 oz skim or fat free milk. (There goes dinner) Dinner: 4 oz Grilled talapia with mashed califlower (forget the califlower, I could eat maybe 2 oz if I actually finished the Protein Shake earlier) Vitamin time: My liquid nasty multi vitamin is 2 oz. There goes 2 oz of stomach space. Sometime in the morning I take my 2 oz of liquid Calcium. There goes 2 more ounces of stomach space. Somewhere in there I am supposed to be getting what 38 oz or so of water? What I am really doing today (most likely): Starbucks Vivano with an extra scoop of protein (This will hold me the whole day I think. It is the first time since surgery I have had one) It has taken me 3 hours to drink almost all of it, I have been alternating with water though and I am full) I have some leftover blended ham and swiss cheese from dinner last night, about 2 - 2.5 ounces. I will eat that about 1 and drink water after. I will drink a shake at about 3-4. I doubt I will finish it maybe 3/4 if I am good in 1.5 hours. Try dinner at 7 and nasty, horse hay tasting vitamins:thumbdown:. Maybe some blended chicken and cheddar, about 3 oz over an hour. You can see I am trying to get more calories. We will see how it goes. I have a therapy appointment on Monday because I do reconginize this is not "healthy" or "normal" thinking. I think I am begining the 3 week stall at 5 weeks because the scale has not moved in days also. That is adding to my anxiety and food issues.

Guys I have some kind of strange thinking going on. I wanted to see if anyone else felt this way. I am on full liquids/mushies hybrid thing now after a long bout of clears. My doctor wanted me to ease into mushies from full liquids because I spent too long on clears (long story, not my fault). My diet is still mostly liquids because of a few reasons. Unless it is really mushed, like baby food, it causes the dreaded esophagus or stomach cramps. I am not sure which. It does not matter how much I chew either. It has to be pureed or pain will soon follow. So the strange thinking? I am afraid to eat sometimes, like seriously afraid. I forget to eat which I know is common after surgery but sometimes I get major anxiety about eating, even drinking my shakes. I look at the calories and think ?I could just skip this and lose more weight?. My husband is worried enough he had a talk with me last night about just how many calories I am actually getting. I woke up yet again yesterday with the shakes and he took my blood sugar (he is diabetic not me) and it was 51:001_unsure:. I think this is what triggered the ?talk?. My calories each day? About 350 ? 400. I don?t think that is bad. My doctor just said stay under 800. I don?t feel tired but I am foggy sometimes. I forget stuff all the time now though. I guess my point in this ramble is: Is anyone afraid of eating now? Like the inner skinny person is admonishing you for eating anything? I always would get angry at myself when I would eat before surgery because I made such bad choices. Sometimes I would tell myself how fat and ugly I was. Now I can go without eating and I feel like I should to make up for all the bad eating. I am scared if I eat too many more calories (like 600 to 800) I might stop losing. I have been on this full liquids/mushies hybrid thing for 1 week and only lost 2 lbs so I am scared to get on the scale again. I feel like for the first time in my life I am in control of my eating and I don?t want to give in to any eating or I might lose that control again. I wanted the tight reign on my stomach and I got it but now my husband (and coworkers) are hassling me that I am not eating enough. I am still 57 lbs overweight. How could I not be eating enough? I wish people would get out of my business and stop obsessing about what I am putting in my mouth. I leave a shake box on my desk now so they think I am drinking my shakes. Ugh. What do you all think? Am I just a mess or? Be brutally honest.

I love Chike banana flavor. The chocolate is not great but I have been stuck with chocolate only of another brand for 4 weeks because it was the only Protein shake my stomach would let me have. So I might be just tired of chocolate. The vanilla is good, has a slight chemical after taste though. The orange cream is great, the next best flavor to the banana. I don't like fake strawberry so I have not given it a go yet. I might be the only person on the board that does not like

Wow I am simple I guess. You guys are creating masterpieces. I am on mushies and I get these terriaki chicken patties at costco. I pull one out and heat it up. Then I blend it with 1 tbl cheddar and 1 tsp ranch. I can only eat half and save half for later. The chicken is about 6 oz each patty. I also found I like to take two pieces sliced ham, like cold cut size and blend it with one slice swiss cheese and 1 tsp thousand island. Yum. I can only eat half of that too. I have never been a fan of eggs so I have not tried them yet. Some have not had good luck so that has made me reluctant. I am alergic to most tree nuts and peanuts so that form of Protein is out.

I don't know about satire but everything is better with cheese. I love talapia. What a tasty fish.

Mac knows a lot about leaks. Maybe she will weigh in on the leaks. I asked my doctor about the staples and did research on them. They are made of titanium (at least mine are) and you can have an MRI later, in fact my tattoo has more of a chance of causing me a problem in an MRI than the staples. Also you will not set off the metal detectors. Your stomach kind of heals around the staples so within 6 months that can't be seen if someone was looking inside you.

Welcome! Be sure to update us when you find out more at your appointment next week.

Yeah I would say you need a new PCP. Let me tell ya a story: I had this feeling my PCP did not want any fat patients. I watched and I was the only one that was weighed at every appointment. When she would come in she would start talking about my weight before even knowing what my problem was. I understand my weight was causing problems but come on and at least give me treatment options for my knees hurting not just tell me to lose weight. Soon every answer was lose weight. I went on the hunt for a new PCP. My husband had been assigned one through the Navy so I gave her a try. At the end of the first appointment she scooted close to me and knee to knee she said "I don't want to offend you but have you ever thought of having bariatric surgery". I said "No I didn't think I qualified" She said "Oh you qualify, do you want a referral?" I said "Yup" Thus started my journey. If I would not have found that wonderful doctor I would still be struggling to lose weight and hating myself. You deserve a doctor who is excited about taking you as a patient because you want to be healthy! Maybe you can do a search for bariatric friendly doctors or when you call the doctors office ask the receptionist if they have patients that have had bariatric surgery and you might be a new patient. Her reaction should be a good judge of how the doctor feels about WLS.

You are normal I promise. Honestly I probably cried every single day of my liquid only phase. I did not have buyers remorse I just felt plain left out. Now that I can eat some mushies I am doing much better. If you feel you need professional help don't feel dumb or embarrassed about getting some. You have lost a huge crutch you have used for years to get through tough times. This is a major lifestyle change. What we go through before, during, and after surgery can't be discounted. You are strong! Stay out of food situations. I had to stay out of grocery stores and ignore signs for food, looking the other way. You can do this just don't torture yourself by being in those areas.

Oh I forgot I used an extra pillow to put over my stomach and hold when I coughed. That is a good thing to remember for people having surgery. That first shower is so wonderful!

You all can eat those hemp hearts and tell me how it goes. I still have not tried greek yogurt. There are some adventurous eaters here.

I just wanted to add that if your PCP is not supportive of your decision then find a new one that will be supportive. Your doctor's job is to take care of you as they find you, so if you are sleeved then they need to take care of you like a sleeve patient needs to be cared for. Labs and all.

I honestly can't wait till your next update and when you get your website up! Optifast. Yech. Remember as you are going through your liquid diet keep your eye on the prize, stay out of the here and now and look at the future. You can do this. This is so exciting. You are going to love your sleeve!

I have lost 22 lbs in 4 weeks. I would say I was on a strict diet because for 3 weeks I was on Clear liquids. Now I am on full liquids and a little bit of mush. I don't feel like I am on a strict diet though. My stomach is so small I am not hungry.

Tiff I am so sorry. Deployments suck and having them extended sucks even more. You have every right to complain. 4 deployments is a lot to go through. You have been through so much alone it is time for you guys to be back together again. Hang in there.